http://phorcix.org/proj/g_mbp8/gentoo_mbp8.txt - this is the way I made my first install on a MBP8,1 last year. Since then, I've dropped rEFIt and GRUB(2) and am now having dual-boot Gentoo&OSX using only rEFInd._________________++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

If you've got no need for OSX, no, it's not needed to stay. You should make your mind up, if you prefer a GPT or MBR installation, based on that, the installation process varies a little.

If this should be your only computer, you should make sure you've got some medium which can really boot without hiccup on this machine. A few LiveCDs/-sticks still got problems related to the EFI. Arch Linux rolled out new .isos this week, which should work without problems._________________++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

Last edited by avx on Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

i couldn't get refind installed, for I tried UEFI.
...
some guidance on this would be appreciated.

You'll need to be much more specific. "I couldn't get refind installed" doesn't say what you tried (the install.sh script or a manual install; from OS X or Linux) or what went wrong. It's also unclear what you mean by "for I tried UEFI"; according to the rules of English grammar, that suggests that you're blaming UEFI for your failure to install rEFInd, but I suspect that's not your intent.

Installing rEFInd is no magic, really(though I still didn't get those .bmp overlays to work).

Judging from what I could understand from your post, you're now trying to boot with Apple's bootloader, I'm not sure if that's possible at all._________________++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

slugggerzzz ... I assume that this is {ESP}/EFI/refind and that {ESP} is mounted to /boot/efi ...

slugggerzzz wrote:

Code:

Fatal: Couldn't open either sysfs or procfs directories for accessing EFI variables.

Is this to do with me only being chrooted into the environment and not booting to a kernel with EFI support ?

Yes, basically, you need to be booted via efi to access efi, so the livecd isn't suitable. You could use a different bootable CD that supports efi, as avx suggested, or you you can use the efi spec default location and use Apple's "Boot EFI" to load it.

So, your efi executable would be placed in {ESP}/efi/boot/bootx64.efi (this could be a efi stub kernel, or other bootloader/bootmanager such as rEFInd), you then boot and hold down the 'alt' key and you should be able to select the above. Once booted (EFI) you can then load 'efivars' (module) and run efibootmgr.

I'm not using any of the menu-entries myself, I just included the kernel options in the built-in kernel-cmdline, renamed the kernel to vmlinuz-$version.efi, placed it in EFI/gentoo/vmlinuz... and rEFInd picked it up without any more configuration on my part. I tried it once with an menu entry, but that didn't show up for some odd reason, so I've gone the path layed out before and never looked back._________________++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

/dev/sda1 is the ESP for me, vfat formatted. It's mounted to /mnt/boot and in there is

Code:

ls **/
APPLE gentoo refind

finally, /mnt/boot/EFI/gentoo is bind-mounted to /boot so the kernel install scripts work properly.

Edit, if you want to check out my kernel config, here is the one I'm currently using:
http://phorcix.org/proj/g_mbp8/mbp81-config.txt_________________++++++++++[>+++++++>++++++++++>+++>+<<<<-]>++.>+.+++++++..+++.>++.<<+++++++++++++++.>.+++.------.--------.>+.>.

It obviously fails to find a valid /-partition, so either you screwed up passing the correct value to the kernel or you forgot to include (as in not as a module) the support for your filesystem on your root partition.

If you're not using the menu-entry in refind.conf, then AFAIK you must pass arguments to the kernel in the kernel's built-in cmdline, which for me is:

In other words, either the "root=/dev/sda3" specification you passed was incorrect or (more likely) you need an initial RAM disk (initrd or initramfs) to boot your system because the main kernel file lacks some critical driver or feature. Note that your output goes on to list /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, and /dev/sda3 as available devices; however, in my experience that doesn't necessarily mean that the kernel has everything that's needed. Personally, I gave up on non-initrd boots quite some time ago, but I gather there are still people who use them. If you're one of them, I recommend you carefully review your kernel configuration; or you could build an initrd just to see if it helps, and then work out what you need to change from a working system.

If there is anymore config files that would make this easier to solve please let me know and i will post them straight up.

slugggerzzz ... generally you would make available your kernel config, disk partition layout ('gdisk -l') and fstab, the output of 'lspci -k' ... basically, information that we can corrolate with the problem.

This looks to me as if CONFIG_SATA_AHCI is missing (see: What does "VFS: Cannot open root device..." mean). I assume the disk was partitioned as GPT (that is, you used 'gdisk' rather than 'fdisk'), but most likely this is a missing driver issue.